Giving Compass' Take:
- Michael Sol Warren reports on how city-backed nonprofit grocery stores have come to Newark, New York offering 30% discounts.
- What can donors and funders do to support initiatives that make food more affordable for local communities across the country, beginning with their own?
- Ask a custom question to find other nonprofits focused on food and nutrition.
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Inside a small mural-covered building on New Street in Newark’s Central Ward, a carton of a dozen eggs is on sale for $1.69.
The building houses one of five community grocery stores now open in Newark — one serving each of the city’s wards — offering food and essential goods at 30% below wholesale costs. Those same eggs would cost on average elsewhere more than $2 for the dozen, according to data from the Federal Reserve.
It’s a modest savings on its own. But apply that discount to an entire grocery list, and the savings grow.
“You can take [the savings] and put back into your rent, into your mortgage, into your bills, into your child's education, or to your trip to Atlantic City,” said Khaatim Sherrer El, the executive director of Clinton Hill Community Action, one of the local nonprofits now operating the stores.
The South Ward community grocery store was the first of the cohort, opening its doors in 2024. It became the example that Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said he wanted to see replicated citywide, and it has drawn recognition beyond Newark. The remaining locations opened in recent weeks — and local elected officials and nonprofit leaders celebrated the initiative on Thursday, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Central Ward location.
The community grocery stores are owned and operated by local nonprofits, with each being supported by $250,000 in city funding. Baraka said the nonprofits and the city continue to seek philanthropic funding to support the stores, but he said the city funding will remain for the foreseeable future.
“The city is committed every year to seeding this so it continues to function,” Baraka said.
The Newark stores will soon accept SNAP and WIC benefits, according to Baraka’s office. Each store may have different hours based on the preference of its operator, and some will require appointments for shopping. The discounts at the Newark stores are comparable to those New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has promised at the city-run grocers he plans to open.
Read the full article about city-backed nonprofit grocery stores by Michael Sol Warren at Gothamist.